Will this be the new ADs first mistake?

[The Real SamC]

Whatever Sam......another season like this past year and I guaranty he will be gone.

If this season was acceptable, and it was to those in power, then why would not it again be acceptable again, and again, and again? DD will be here as long as he wants, be replaced by one of his staff or some rando retread, and this will continue. Winning is not a priority. This is a token effort.

 

[GoHerdMarshallYes]

Okay, I get the, "At least I gave him a chance." out. But what is miraculously going to happen in the next 8 months that is going to enable Marshall basketball to pull a complete 180? I wonder how much of this was inner politics?


Rumor has it that a BOG member stated that DD was going to go another year or two...and that was two years ago. I'm sorry, but I just don't see how we improve that much and how DD can save any face at all. If next season gets to January and we are about the same as this year, the Cam will be giant mausoleum. They will be giving away a mens ticket with the purchase of a volleyball ticket.

Thank you for finally seeing that there...may just be a little bit of biased opinions in the MU BoG.
Opt to not retain CoY in one sport (who actually righted the ship because "We play for championships") and retain another who has given MU one of its worst seasons in recent years and hasn't even gone upwards in progress...the total opposite in fact.

 

[GoHerdMarshallYes]

Marshall basketball has a lot of potential on the fan engagement front... There isn't shit to do in the winter in Huntington after football ends. Basketball is indoors (not weather dependent), takes about 2 hours (don't have to dedicate a whole day to it), and it appeals to kids (thousands of kids play youth/middle school/high school basketball within an hour of MU).

Spears is a smart guy, he will figure it out... Even if most of us do feel like he punted on the DD decision.

Spears would show the fans he is for real and serious about success if he fired DD mid-season if MU had a similar performance to that point.

 

[RhinoD]

Spears would show the fans he is for real and serious about success if he fired DD mid-season if MU had a similar performance to that point.

I think what we will more likely see is ---

1. An assistant or two "leave the program" and are replaced.
2. Multiple players leave via the portal.
3. We add a couple of transfers
4. We schedule an incredibly weak non conference slate.
5. We look "better" in league play because the SBC is worse than CUSA.

The question is, what is the bench mark for improvement next year?... Finish above .500?... Win 20 games?

 

[GoHerdMarshallYes]

I think what we will more likely see is ---

1. An assistant or two "leave the program" and are replaced.
2. Multiple players leave via the portal.
3. We add a couple of transfers
4. We schedule an incredibly weak non conference slate.
5. We look "better" in league play because the SBC is worse than CUSA.

The question is, what is the bench mark for improvement next year?... Finish above .500?... Win 20 games?

Hold it to the same standard as football..."We play for championships."

I find it funny how DD did talk down to the SBC because it is a weaker conference...and he goes on to have one of the worst seasons with one of the weakest schedules ever made.

 

[TwolfHerdfan]

Hold it to the same standard as football..."We play for championships."

I find it funny how DD did talk down to the SBC because it is a weaker conference...and he goes on to have one of the worst seasons with one of the weakest schedules ever made.

We're not tearing it up in football either despite and obvious preference and funding for that sport. Both have 1 title in the 17 years we've been in CUSA. Nothing to brag about.

 

[GoHerdMarshallYes]

We're not tearing it up in football either despite and obvious preference and funding for that sport. Both have 1 title in the 17 years we've been in CUSA. Nothing to brag about.

I agree about the titles, but one is actually still been more competitive than the other.
I am curious, how many P5 programs did DD beat in the regular/post season?

 

[TwolfHerdfan]

I agree about the titles, but one is actually still been more competitive than the other.
I am curious, how many P5 programs did DD beat in the regular/post season?

LOL! I don't think he has beaten any. I am not a football first or b'ball first guy. I think both programs have vastly underperformed. Doc had one great year. Dan had one great year. Being competitive in CUSA isn't saying too much in either sport.

 

[19MU88]

The decision to retain DD is certainly not the transformational leadership that was promised nor that I expected.

Well at least you know who to hold accountable

 

[usaHERD]

Ticket sales will bottom out. That's when it hits the fan!

 

[whs-softball]

DD is getting 1 year deals. That puts the entire accountability on DD to get it right and get it now. I like this move by the AD. Zero long term deal and no risk from the University standpoint.

 

[sluggo72]

This is a man who is doing as he is told. Men’s basketball does not matter. He was told to retain DD as the front man for this token effort and that is what he did. If he has any feelings on the matter otherwise, then that is the price he paid to get a I-A AD job. We all make compromises in our lives, and this may be his. Principle is a nice thing, if you already have every thing you want.

The only thing for the common fans to do is to don’t fall for the act, and certainly not the hype. This crew is not trying. If that bothers you, walk away.

So who told him?

 

[mufan08]

DD is getting 1 year deals. That puts the entire accountability on DD to get it right and get it now. I like this move by the AD. Zero long term deal and no risk from the University standpoint.

Have the complete opposite view, it shows that we do not have commitment to the basketball program as the university and how are players going to be developed when the coaches are not signed longer than 12 months? Also, this is another tool for coaches to use against Marshall recruits. So for a coaching staff that struggles recruiting already , this puts them more behind the 8 ball of not having a long term commitment with the coaching staff. So we will be looking for players that no one wants….

We are in purgatory until Yuk Yuk goes back to Mullens.

 

[The Real SamC]

Ticket sales will bottom out. That's when it hits the fan!

As long as the 4 to 5K of the local elderly gentry show up, the marketing plan is working:

- Employ a MU connected retired HS coach, who works cheap.
- Hit up the students for athletic fees, even though they don't care.
- Sell a cornpone act about fictional past glory.
- Live off an 8 day hot streak.
- Collect the Disney Dollars, Which will not change one Disney Cent no matter what we do on the court.
- Sell the same local gentry elderly the same seats they have always bought.

It is a formula for irrelevance. But they don't care. This is a token effort.

 

[TwolfHerdfan]

As long as the 4 to 5K of the local elderly gentry show up, the marketing plan is working:

- Employ a MU connected retired HS coach, who works cheap.
- Hit up the students for athletic fees, even though they don't care.
- Sell a cornpone act about fictional past glory.
- Live off an 8 day hot streak.
- Collect the Disney Dollars, Which will not change one Disney Cent no matter what we do on the court.
- Sell the same local gentry elderly the same seats they have always bought.

It is a formula for irrelevance. But they don't care. This is a token effort.

Elderly gentry. That’s brilliant. I laughed out loud on that one.

 

[bbneutralfan]

So Mr Spears give Coach D’antoni a one year pass. OK at the end of next season if we are no better competing in the Sunbelt how quickly will Mr Spears cut the cord and show us that HE cares about all Marshall sports.

 

[TwolfHerdfan]

So Mr Spears give Coach D’antoni a one year pass. OK at the end of next season if we are no better competing in the Sunbelt how quickly will Mr Spears cut the cord and show us that HE cares about all Marshall sports.

I'd say he is already making a list of candidates for the 23-24 season.

 

[GoHerdMarshallYes]

So Mr Spears give Coach D’antoni a one year pass. OK at the end of next season if we are no better competing in the Sunbelt how quickly will Mr Spears cut the cord and show us that HE cares about all Marshall sports.

I doubt DD is even going to be retained at the end of next year. He's old and uses a style of coaching that has been passed by.

This will be especially obvious if he can't win a conference he spoke down about and is (on paper) a lower level of competition.

Spears will (like most AD's) want his own appointed guy and likely has an idea of whom he can get.